Report: Pussy Riot member asks for solitary confinement

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Photos:Show of support for Pussy Riot

Women in waiting – Pussy Riot band members Yekaterina Samutsevich, Maria Alyokhina and Nadezhda Tolokonnikova sit in a glass-walled cage during a court hearing in Moscow on Friday August 17.

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Photos:Show of support for Pussy Riot

Feminist solidarity – The court case has sparked demonstrations of support across Europe and the U.S. An activist from feminist group Femen cuts down an Orthodox cross in Ukraine, erected in memory of victims of political oppression, in a show of solidarity with the punk band.

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Photos:Show of support for Pussy Riot

Writing on the wall? – A man walks past pro-Pussy Riot graffiti in Moscow. Band members were charged after screaming "Mother Mary please drive Putin away" during a concert inside Christ Savior Cathedral, in February.

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Photos:Show of support for Pussy Riot

Colorful support – Campaigners wear the band's trademark colorful balaclavas in a demonstration outside the Church of Christ the Savior in Moscow.

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Photos:Show of support for Pussy Riot

Political protest – Pro-Pussy Riot demonstrators gather in St. Petersburg. Putin criticized the band's action earlier this month but said they should not be judged "too harshly," according to state-run news agency RIA Novosti.

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Photos:Show of support for Pussy Riot

Cagey subject – Supporters sit locked in a mock defendants cage outside a Moscow court. The band members have been charged with hooliganism aimed at "inciting religious hatred."

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Photos:Show of support for Pussy Riot

Pussy Riot masks – Demonstrators wear Pussy Riot-style masks outside a Moscow court. Singer Madonna also donned one of the masks during a recent gig in the city, telling the audience: "Everyone has the right to free speech, everywhere in the world. Maria, Katya, Nadia, I pray for you."

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Story highlights

Maria Alyokhina and another punk band member were sentenced in August

They are serving their two-year prison sentences in a penal colony far from Moscow

It cites prison officials as saying she has "strained relations" with other inmates

One of the members of the Russian punk band Pussy Riot serving a two-year prison sentence has asked to be transferred to solitary confinement because of "strained relations" with other inmates, state media reported Friday.

Maria Alyokhina, 24, and fellow band member Nadezhda Tolokonnikova, 23, were sentenced in August for performing a song critical of President Vladimir Putin in one of the Russian Orthodox Church's most important cathedrals in February.

They are serving their sentences at a penal colony in Perm, about 1,000 kilometers (700 miles) east of Moscow.

The state-run news agency Ria Novosti cited unidentified prison officials as saying that Alyokhina had made the transfer request. The agency noted that Alyokhina, a vegan, had previously complained about the meat-based diet at the prison colony.

Yekaterina Samutsevich, a third member of the band who was sentenced with Alyokhina and Tolokonnikova, was freed from prison last month.